


The Trust Part

by UnromanticPoetess



Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: Gift Fic, M/M, No Sex, Oliver and Roy are emotionally constipated, Roy confronts Oliver, just feels, laEsmeralda's Plain Truths, post-Surprises
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-28
Updated: 2015-04-28
Packaged: 2018-03-26 03:45:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,197
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3835765
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/UnromanticPoetess/pseuds/UnromanticPoetess
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Roy has found out things about Oliver and Dig as well as things about himself. He just needs to confront Oliver and let some feelings out.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Trust Part

**Author's Note:**

  * For [laEsmeralda](https://archiveofourown.org/users/laEsmeralda/gifts).



> I was inspired to write this after reading laEsmeralda's wonderfully sexy Plain Truths series. It's set in that universe, but an AU version of that, as she's continuing that fic. This is set after the 5th part of Plain Truths, Surprises. Please read IaEsmeralda's work; I'm just playing in her borrowed sandbox.
> 
> And that you so much, laEsmeralda, for letting me do this and being so encouraging.

Roy sat at Felicity’s chair, his feet propped up on her desk, smiling about what she would do to him if she caught him. His eye caught the surveillance camera in the corner, and he smirked at it just in case she caught him on footage.

The sounds coming from Dig’s bunk told him they didn’t realize he was there, that they didn’t need to muffle their moans. Oliver was quiet, but even he couldn’t hold everything back. They’d forgotten to set the alarms. Funny how they’d been getting lax in the past few weeks, as they’d become more wrapped up in each other.

And Barry, of course. Roy closed his eyes, the remembered soft lips and desperate touches joining with the sounds from across the room to make him hard. He resisted the urge to pull out his phone and thumb through Barry’s texts from the night before. It had been Barry’s first time sexting, and it had been adorable. There were words Roy had asked Felicity about that morning. He’d given her no context. Hot rocket scientists made sexting a learning experience.

He took a quiet breath. That wasn’t why he was here. He was here because Oliver had taken to avoiding him, and this was pretty much the only time he was sure he could get him alone. 

The moaning increased, reached a peak… then stopped. Roy waited. They wouldn’t fall asleep, at least not for long. The fake Arrow had kept them all on their toes, and they couldn’t afford much downtime.

He leaned forward a bit to reach into his pocket, deciding to thumb through his texts with Allen anyway, and the chair squeaked. He sighed. They knew he was here now.

Roy took his feet off the desk, but kept his seat. He heard the rustling of clothes, and then footsteps.

“How long have you been there?”

Roy had to take another breath. The full-body chill he got whenever Oliver spoke, particularly when he was kinda pissed and all demanding-like. Not the disguised voice of the Arrow, but Oliver’s voice. It went beyond sexy, it was… one of those words that Barry could have probably thought of in a heartbeat, but Roy only knew it as an abstract feeling.

But he had to focus. Oliver was standing in front of him, arms folded, looking even deadlier than if he had an arrow pointed at Roy’s head. Dig kept back, his face slightly amused, but letting Oliver take the lead.

“You forgot to set the security,” Roy pointed out, suddenly uncomfortable. He realized he’d dropped in on a private moment without asking. Why couldn’t he think of shit like that until after he did it?

“And you stayed,” Oliver said. Damn, he could win a staring contest with a rock.

Dig cleared his throat a bit. “I think I need to leave. I’ll check out that warehouse from the last fake Arrow hit. See if he got careless for once.”

“I’d rather you stayed,” Oliver said, still keeping his eyes on Roy. Roy’s own eyes were starting to water.

“Oliver, the kid obviously wants to talk. You’ve been dodging him long enough.” Dig said evenly, and Roy knew that as much as Oliver threw out orders and demands, John Diggle always got the last word. 

Oliver and Roy stayed silent as Dig grabbed his gun and slipped on his leather jacket. The silence stretched even as the footsteps echoed past the door, and then disappeared entirely.

“So,” Oliver said, and damn if his voice didn’t send more chills through Roy’s body even as it got quieter. “You wanted to talk to me.”

“Yeah,” Roy said, licking his lips, finally breaking eye contact. His eyes burned, and he blinked rapidly. “I’m sorry, though. About the circumstances. Didn’t think. Should have let you have your privacy.”

“Yes, you should have,” Oliver said, now the ghost of a smile on his lips, his eyes crinkling slightly. “But it’s done, and… I have been avoiding you. Maybe I didn’t give you a chance to do this right.”

Huh. Oliver admitting possible wrong. There had been subtle changes in Oliver, which now Roy realized had started with this new relationship with Dig… and Barry, he guessed. That was even more obvious than the extra level of secret handshake he’d sensed. 

“So… I guess you know I know. About you and Dig screwing, I mean.”

Roy almost laughed. It may have been a trick of the light, but it looked like Oliver blushed. At least, his eyes widened.

“We don’t do that… I mean…” Oliver seemed to be scrambling for his usual stony front. Roy felt a tiny flush of pride. It took a lot to make Oliver stutter.

“We didn’t mean to hide it from you,” Oliver rallied. His arms were still folded, he was calm, but it was only a slight tightening of his knuckles that gave his discomfort away. “At least, we meant to hide it from more people than ended up finding out.” He paused. “I’m sorry you ended up being the last.”

Roy hunched forward on the chair. “Wait… Laurel knows?”

Oliver’s brow puckered. He obviously wasn’t used to Laurel being considered part of their team. “Next to last, then.”

Roy chuckled and looked at the floor. “If Allen hadn’t told me, I might have been last. Laurel’s a lawyer. She’s gonna figure it out sometime.”

“Not sure if it’s anyone’s business but me and John’s,” Oliver said, his voice turning impatient.

“And Barry,” Roy said.

Oliver’s eye twitched. “And Barry. And what would be the circumstances for you and Barry sharing this very private information?”

“I called him for help. When I was protecting Starling City alone. Like I said.”

Oliver gave a rather sarcastic smile. Roy wasn’t sure if Oliver knew how cruel his smiles could turn. “Seems a personal conversation for two crime fighters.”

Roy decided to use a bit of sarcasm himself. “Not sure if it’s anyone’s business but me and Barry’s.” He copied Oliver’s cadence, throwing in a little extra emphasis to make sure Oliver got it.

Oliver’s arms tightened. “You… and Barry?”

Roy hadn’t meant to go there. He wasn’t sure if Barry wanted to tell Oliver, and this wasn’t what he wanted to talk about. But he’d gone there, and he’d have to make it up to Barry later.

“You’re not the only one with a whole ‘need and trust’ issue,” Roy said, and he was a little freaked out to hear his voice crack. 

He waited for Oliver to speak, but Oliver didn’t seem to know what to say. The silence stretched, and Roy started to feel the trickle of anger that had spurred him into this confrontation. He decided to just dive in, damn the consequences. He was never one to care much about consequences anyway.

“But that’s not it. I mean…” he gathered his breath. “I don’t care who you fuck, or who fucks you, or who you choose to not-fuck for some fucking reason, and I’m not asking anything like that from you. I love your sister. Not looking to swing down the family tree.” He smiled. “And Barry’s pretty special. If it came to it, he would be enough. He should be enough for anyone.”

Oliver again said nothing, this time didn’t even flush. So Roy continued, saying more around Oliver than he’d ever said combined. 

“And I know it’s private. I’m not pissed about you keeping it a secret. I’m pissed about why you kept it a secret… from me.” He ground his teeth and looked down. He couldn’t say this while looking into those eyes. “Because I know you don’t trust me. Still.”

He’d said it. Finally. It was out there. He thought he’d feel better. Instead, he felt like running out of there, or putting the red back on and patrolling the shadows. 

Instead, he looked up. There was surprise on Oliver’s face. He’d expected that. It was always surprising when people were smarter than you thought.

“Roy, I…”

Roy waved his hand. This time he got up, started pacing. He needed a bit more movement, any excuse to get away from Oliver’s gaze. “You’re going to tell me that you do trust me. I’m sorry, Oliver. I don’t buy it. It’s not that you didn’t tell me because you wanted to keep it private. You didn’t tell me because you thought that I was a homophobe. Like a gang member… though you and Dig have pretty fucked up ideas about what gangs are like. Completely forgetting that I was friends with Sarah, and Sin, and hello both bisexual, and I’ve figured out I am, too… But you thought I’d reject you both. That…” He was at the case with Oliver’s costume, the green leather and hood that he’d fallen in love with, that he’d idolized for so long. “That hurt. A lot.”

When Oliver didn’t say anything, Roy realized he wanted to keep talking. He could see Oliver’s face in the glass, the imperfect man reflected against his powerful persona. The contrast hurt his brain.

“I… I just don’t know what else I can do to earn your trust,” Roy said. “You trained me, and you still train me. I do what you say. You ask me to give up Thea. I do it, even though it rips out my insides to do it. I make her hate me, and I keep my distance even when she’s hurting so bad.

“You tell me that I’m not responsible for what I did under the influence of the Mirakuru. I hurt people… I killed someone… and you tell me it doesn’t matter, that you trust me. But… I’m not sure you do. I think, still, you see me as that messed-up gang member with a drugged-out history, or…” he swallowed hard, “just a weapon. Something you can use to help protect the city, but you wish you could put back in its case at the end of the day. Arsenal, right?”

Roy finally looked straight at him at that question. Oliver’s lips were about the thinnest he’d ever seen, and the man seemed to be vibrating. Roy wondered if he should be nervous… well, nervouser.

“You’re right,” Oliver said, his voice little more than a whisper.

Roy held his breath. He felt his eyes sting, but he swallowed and willed the tears back. It had been forever since someone had seem him cry, and it sure as hell wasn’t going to be now.

Oliver must have interpreted the look on Roy’s face, because he chuckled. “Roy, you’re so much like me, it’s painful. That… what I said came out wrong. I do trust you, I just don’t act like it. I have trust issues.”

“Understatement of a lifetime,” Roy said before he could stop himself.

Oliver raised an eyebrow. “I’ve had partners before. You met one of them last year. Things tend to turn south pretty quickly, as in ‘threaten my friends and murder my family’ south. It’s made me… cautious.”

“But you trust Dig,” Roy pointed out.

“Not at first,” Oliver said. “He… he came to me, knowing that I was hurting, that I was eating away at myself with my own loneliness. He offered me help. Closeness. But I still kept him at arm’s length. I made everything cold and perfunctory.” Oliver gave a bitter smile. “Not to minimize your pain, but you’re one on a long list of people I’ve hurt.”

“So what happened?” Roy said.

Oliver’s smile turned more genuine. “Barry.”

Roy had almost been expecting that answer. It seemed like Barry had taken them all out of their shells. As he thought about Barry’s smile, about Barry and Oliver together, he realized he was blushing.

“So, I’ll work on it,” Oliver said. “I promise… well, I can’t promise I won’t keep secrets from you, because who are we kidding, but I promise not to underestimate you again. And… I’m glad you have Barry.”

Roy laughed. “Glad he’s got that increased stamina. He’s gonna be busy now.”

Oliver clapped a hand on Roy’s shoulder, and despite what Roy said before about family trees, he felt a shiver go through his body. “Come on, I’ll buy you a drink… not upstairs. I know somewhere close.”

Roy let himself be led away. It wasn’t perfect. He knew Oliver. He would keep things from him, as he did everyone. But the arm on his shoulder, the offer of a drink… the tiny glimpse into his heart… it was enough for now.

“So Barry really didn’t tell you,” Roy said as they started up the stairs.

“Haven’t had a chance to really talk,” Oliver said. “I’m glad he was able to help. So… bisexual, huh?”

“Recent realization,” Roy said. “Completely confirmed while I was riding Flash’s dick, though.”

Roy was about to open the door when he heard a thump and a scuffle, and he turned to see Oliver face-down on the stairs. Smirking, Roy held out his hand to help him up. He wasn’t sure how much mileage he could get out of this to catch Oliver off-guard, but he was off to a good start, at least.


End file.
